AM Jahid

Moody’s has downgraded Bangladesh’s banking sector to “very weak” from “weak”, citing worsening client confidence, limited transparency and inadequate financial safeguards over the past year.

Awami League-affiliated businesses had already put the country’s banking sector in trouble with huge bad debts, but the loans disbursed through irregularities to these companies turned sour even at a more alarming pace after the party’s ouster.

Credit card transactions within Bangladesh in September rose 14.42 percent to Tk 2,668 crore compared to that in August.

The interim government is going to formulate a specific roadmap to recover funds of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust (BCCT), amounting to Tk 873.82 crore, that have been held up in Padma Bank since 2016.

Twelve non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) out of a total 35 are holding nearly 73.5 percent of the sector’s bad loans, according to Bangladesh Bank data, reflecting a precarious situation at those entities.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is sending a team within the first week of December to review whether Bangladesh qualifies for the fourth tranche of a $4.7 billion loan programme.

In the competitive local banking landscape, Mutual Trust Bank PLC (MTB) differentiates itself by offering trust to its customers, says Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank.

The central bank raised the key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10 percent yesterday, making borrowing costlier for the 11th consecutive time to tame inflation as spiralling prices remain a headache for the interim government.

The volume of cash outside the banking sector of Bangladesh has been increasing since the start of the year due to persistent inflation, the loss of consumer confidence in the sector due to the presence of ailing lenders, and the prevailing situation following the recent political changeover.

Amid a persistent liquidity crunch, some lenders are desperately trying to increase their deposit base by offering higher interest rates to attract customers.

Bangladesh’s migrant workers sent home Tk 1,101.8 crore in remittances through mobile financial service (MFS) providers in August, marking the highest monthly receipts through digital channels in the past five years.

Transactions through debit, credit and prepaid cards dipped to a 27-month low in August this year, owing to a lack of cash in ATM booths amidst security concerns and people curtailing spending for political uncertainties..Overall transactions through the cards in August amounted to Tk 33,9

Two months ago, as Professor Muhammad Yunus waded into Bangladesh’s unprecedented political turmoil, he inherited economic chaos by default.

Distressed loans at banks totalled over Tk 4.75 lakh crore at the end of 2023 – a revelation that makes for a sobering read of the actual health of this vital sector of the economy.

Referring to the legal provision requiring a 2 percent shareholding in a commercial bank to become a director, Abdul Mannan,  chairman of First Security Islami Bank (FSIB), said this has driven away seasoned banking leadership from boardrooms and allowed infamous individuals like S Alam into banking leadership roles.

Beximco has sought support from the government to extend the repayment period of its liabilities to Janata Bank over the next 10 years, including a two-year moratorium.

After a prolonged period of crisis, the foreign exchange market in Bangladesh, especially the interbank forex market, is showing signs of recovery, driven by a rebound in remittance receipts and key policy interventions by the central bank.

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday constituted a new board of directors at IFIC Bank after dissolving the previous board, effectively bringing an end to Salman F Rahman’s grip on the private commercial bank.

The country’s Islamic banking sector registered growth in deposits in June although several Shariah-based lenders are facing widespread scams and irregularities.

Remittances sent by Bangladeshis living abroad soared nearly 39 percent year-on-year to $2.2 billion in August, which is likely to ease pressure on the foreign exchange reserves to some extent.